The Week Ahead in Experimental Food - or - How to Spend a Summer Day in January (65 degrees!)

My Realtor called at 6:00 last night to say she would be showing my house at 11:00 this morning. So I needed to be gone.

And gone I got. I spent my day engaged in one of my very favorite pastimes: shopping, or more specifically, grocery shopping, starting at my favorite store on the planet, Shetler’s Discount Grocery store, owned and operated in several locations around here by a Mennonite family. I chose the Norwood location, only about 7 miles from my house.

Full disclosure: I've previously proclaimed Trader Joe's as my favorite grocery store on the planet, and in fact, I saw several Trader Joe's items at Shetler's today. And if I lived in a city, I would again make the Trader Joe's proclamation, but, alas, I am not, so I cannot. Or will not. Let's just say, "subject to change without notice.")

What I particularly love about Shetler's, besides the hugely discounted prices, is the unusual selection of merchandise.

Here, in part, is what I will be experimenting with in the upcoming week(s):

Grab & Go No-Nut Butter (“peanut butter”) made not from peanuts, but from peas. Destined to be spread onto celery hearts which are wilting in my fridge (unless, of course, the celery hearts make their way into a Bloody Mary, instead.)

Ancient Harvest Quinoa Hot Cereal Flakes, destined for a warm cereal breakfast, or perhaps incorporated into a smoothie (I have a giant tub of protein powder in my fridge that shimmies its way to the front every time I open the door, as well as a huge baggie of over-ripe bananas in the freezer). Alternatively, the quinoa flakes may be used as a breading for fish or chicken or used as a sprinkle on top of my:

Stonyfield Chia and Blueberry Greek Yogurt.

To satisfy my salt-and-crunch cravings (and to replace the potato chips that have not been allowed in my house for two months now J!): “Lesser-Evil” Super-4 Cheesy Nacho Snacks made from white beans, quinoa, lentils and chia seeds. Other crunchy snack options include:

Beanitos White Cheddar Puffs, made from white beans and high in both fiber and protein. (Can’t get that from a potato chip, can I?) Or:

Orville Redenbachers’s Roasted Garlic and Sea Salt popcorn.

While still (and always) trying to crush my carb-cravings, I will be using several different varieties of jarred, imported Italian marinara, to be poured over spaghetti squash and/or to be dunked into by (a jumbo, restaurant sized bag of) frozen, breaded mozzarella sticks (low-carb, high-protein, deeply satisfying comfort-food side dish), or on certain days (for lunch only) used as sauce on top of (oh-so-cheap-at-this-store, name-brand) whole-wheat spaghetti, rotini or linguine.

On a day when I might feel like spending some quality time in the not-so-cold-right-now kitchen, I might also try gluten-free bread mix, or gluten-free pancake & waffle mix along with maple-flavored turkey breakfast sausage.

That’s only a partial list. I stuffed a bunch of stuff into the freezer (including a restaurant-sized, lifetime-supply bag of onion rings, [I was shopping on an empty stomach, and omg they were cheap!], most of which will probably end up being sold as a bonus to my refrigerator-buyer or my house-buyer, all surprises to be discovered in the days and weeks ahead.

The best part? I spent under $50.00 for easily $100.00 worth of food. Whether or not it tastes good is also part of the surprise. Maybe I’ll write some food reviews. That could be a whole new blog…

P.S. You know what’s on the menu for tonight, right? Of course. But it will be topped by fresh pineapple, fresh tomatoes, fresh mushrooms and fresh onions, followed by a generous sprinkling of authentic imported Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. Yum-oh.

Three trips to the compost pile, veggies chopped, roasted, refrigerated, ready and waiting. But that's for the (always) emotionally grueling week ahead. Tonight...? I wonder if onion rings go well with pizza?